Regional Navigation

Interstate 64 West - Indiana to Mt. Vernon

Interstate 64 west

The westbound rest area of Interstate 64 resides on a bluff above Water Street and the Wabash River. There are no tourist information centers in either direction of I-64 in Illinois. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Illinois 1, a 309-mile route from Cave in Rock on the Ohio River to Chicago, meets Interstate 64 at the Exit 130 in one half mile. Photo taken 05/27/11.

A folded-diamond interchange facilitates the movements between Interstate 64 and Illinois 1 (Court Street) in southern reaches of Grayville. The interchange design was necessary when a Conrail line was in use parallel to IL-1. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Illinois 1 shield assembly posted at the Exit 130 ramp end. Downtown Grayville is 1.6 miles to the north, with IL-1 continuing northeast 14 miles to the Wabash County seat of Mt. Carmel. Carmi, the seat of White County, is 14 miles to the southwest along the Illinois 1 overlap with Illinois 14 (former U.S. 460). Photo taken 05/27/11.

Interstate 64 curves more to the west on the 11 mile drive to Burnt Prairie in northern White County. St. Louis is just over a two hour drive away. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Spanning the Little Wabash River midway between Grayville and Exit 117 near Burnt Prairie. A 240-mile long waterway, Little Wabash River originates near Mattoon, in eastern Illinois, and flows southward into the Wabash River at New Haven. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Cutting a swath across vast farm land, Interstate 64 passes by County Road 1200 East and kinks northwest after Randolph Drainage Ditch onto low rise hills east of Burnt Prairie. Photo taken 05/27/11.

White County 20 sees a diamond interchange (Exit 117) with Interstate 64 in one mile. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Burnt Prairie is a village with less than 100 people situated 1.7 miles west of Exit 117 along County Road 20 (Main Street). Photo taken 05/27/11.

Exit 117 leaves Interstate 64 at the second and final White County interchange. County Road 20 continues west from Burnt Prairie to end at U.S. 45 in Mill Shoals and east back to Grayville. Photo taken 05/27/11.

The northerly jog of Interstate 64 by Burnt Prairie brings the westbound freeway into southern Wayne County. Photo taken 05/27/11.

U.S. 45 meets I-64 at the first of two Wayne County interchanges in six miles. Mt. Vernon is 41 miles to the west. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Joining the Wayne County seat of Fairfield with Norris City to the south, U.S. 45 sees a diamond interchange (Exit 110) with Interstate 64 in one mile. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Interstate 64 and U.S. 45 come together on the outskirts of Mill Shoals, a village of around 250. U.S. 45 travels 1,297 miles from Mobile, Alabama northward to Ontonagon, Michigan. Within Illinois, the US Highway tallies 408 miles from the Ohio River at Brookport to Wisconsin near Antioch. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Exit 110 leaves Interstate 64 west for U.S. 45. U.S. 45 takes a rural path northward to Effingham, where it parallels the Interstate 57 corridor north to Kankakee. Southward U.S. 45 ventures to Harrisburg and Interstate 24 at Vienna. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Another long exit less stretch awaits westbound drivers from near Mill Shoals to junction Illinois 242. There are only two more exits along I-64 west until the merge with I-57 north on the 29-mile drive to Mt. Vernon. Photos taken 05/27/11.

Spanning the Skillet Fork Drainage Canal along Interstate 64 west. The canal channelizes lower reaches of the 98-mile long river through Wayne and White Counties. Photo taken 05/27/11.

A testament to the emptiness of agricultural Illinois along Interstate 64 is this sign which advises motorists of the lack of services between Exit 100 and Mt. Vernon. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Illinois 242 travels 19 miles south from Wayne City (Illinois 15) to Illinois 142 at McLeansboro. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Westbound at the Exit 100 ramp departure to Illinois 242. Wayne City is seven miles to the northwest. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Illinois 242 shields posted at the Exit 100 ramp end. A 12-mile drive carries motorists south to McLeansboro. The town of Belle Prairie City (population 60 as of the 2000 census) lies nearby. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Interstate 64 exits Wayne County for Jefferson County on the 11-mile trek from near Smithville to Exit 89. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Exit 89 joins the freeway with Brehm Lane (County Road 17) south to Illinois 142 at Belle Rive, a village of nearly 400. Photo taken 05/27/11.

County Road 17 ventures north from the Exit 89 partial-cloverleaf interchange to become Main Street in the village of Bluford. The road ends at Illinois 15 north of Bluford. Photo taken 05/27/11.

A loop ramp departs Interstate 64 west at Exit 89. Southward, Illinois 142, which crosses I-64 without access en route to Mt. Vernon, represents the historic routing of U.S. 460. U.S. 460 was truncated in 1977 from an end at St. Louis to Frankfort, Kentucky. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Interstate 64 winds west from Exit 80 and crosses Auxier Creek after this reassurance marker. Photo taken 05/27/11.

The first of three Mt. Vernon exits lies eight miles ahead with Illinois 37 near Bakerville. Mt. Vernon's city limits nearby reach Interstate 64, but downtown is another three miles to the north. Photo taken 05/27/11.

The second of three Illinois rest areas of Interstate 64 west follows in one mile. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Weary travelers depart Interstate 64 west for the Jefferson County rest area. The facility lies north of the Illinois 142 community of Opdyke. Photo taken 05/27/11.

West of Illinois 142 (old U.S. 460), Interstate 64 draws to within one mile of the Exit 80 diamond interchange with Illinois 37 (10th Street / Benton Road). Photo taken 05/27/11.

Illinois 37 stretches 165 miles north from Urbandale to Effingham. The state route was vastly replaced by Interstate 57 as the main route through southern Illinois. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Exit 80 leaves Interstate 64, 1.5 miles ahead of the westbound merge with Interstate 57 north (Exit 78). Illinois 37 follows 10th Street north throughout Mount Vernon. Southward the state route provides an alternate to I-57 through Bonnie, Ina and Benton. Photo taken 05/27/11.

A tri-level stack interchange joins Interstate 64 west with Interstate 57 on the rural outskirts of Mount Vernon. Interstate 57 travels 114 miles south across the Mississippi River en route to Sikeston, Missouri as part of a longer route to Memphis via Interstate 55. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Interstates 55 north & 64 west share 4.14 miles through the west side of Mount Vernon. Exit 78 onto Interstate 57 south partitions from the left; I-57 reaches Marion in 38 miles and the western terminus of Interstate 24 in 48 miles. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Interstates 57 north & 64 west

Interstates 57 north & 64 west span Illinois 148 and a Union Pacific Railroad line beyond their first shield assembly. Photo taken 05/27/11.

One half mile south of the Exit 94 off-ramp to Veterans Memorial Drive. The east-west road leads directly to the intersection of Illinois 37 (10th Street) and the eastbound beginning of Illinois 142, a 55-mile route from Mt. Vernon to McLeansboro, Eldorado and Equality. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Exit 94 departs Interstates 57 north & 64 west for Veterans Memorial Drive. The interchange was added to encourage economic development of the area. A further extension of Veterans Memorial Drive is planned beyond the stub at Wells Bypass. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Next on Interstates 57 & 64 north is the Exit 95 diamond interchange with Illinois 15 (Broadway). IL-15 doubles as the original alignment of U.S. 460 leading west to Ashley, Nashville and Belleville. Historically U.S. 460 followed 10th Street (IL-37) south from downtown to Perkins Avenue east, Shawnee Street south and IL-142 east out of town. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Interstate 64 west prepares to split with Interstate 57 north in 1.5 miles as Exit 95 leaves the northbound freeway for Illinois 15. Illinois 15, a 148-mile route, travels nearly the width of southern Illinois between East St. Louis and the Indiana line at Mt. Carmel. Photo taken 11/17/07. Second photo taken 05/27/11.

A second set of Interstates 57 north & 64 west reassurance shields follows the IL-15 on-ramp in western Mt. Vernon. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Exit 96 consists of a tri-level stack interchange where Interstate 64 resumes a westward course to O'Fallon and St. Louis. Interstate 57 continues with two through lanes to Salem, Champaign and Chicago. Photo taken 05/27/11.

Interstates 57 north & 64 west part ways. Interstate 64 remains rural until Shiloh and the outer St. Louis suburbs as Interstate 57 presses northeast 61 miles to merge with Interstate 70 at Effingham. Photo taken 05/27/11.